All Fixed-Wing news – Page 1260
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Philippines will ask for new fighter bids
The Philippines is expected to issue a request for bids (RFB) for up to 24 fighter aircraft by the end of March, with a potential supplier to be selected by the middle of the year. The Philippines air force is in desperate need of combat aircraft to replace its ...
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RAAF works to extend F/A-18 life until 2010
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is working toward a full definition of its planned F/A-18A/B Hornet upgrade by the third quarter of this year, the aim of which is to extend the aircraft's combat effectiveness until 2010. The upgrade programme, say sources close to the project, is likely ...
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USA could buy Thai F/A-18s
The US Government may offer to acquire Thailand's eight unwanted Boeing F/A-18C/D fighters, now in production, unless a foreign buyer can be found for the aircraft or a satisfactory arrangement can be reached on either cancelling or deferring the $392 million order. US sources suggest that the scheme is ...
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Sukhoi gears up for Chinese tests
Sukhoi is expected to begin test flights in mid-1998 of a modified variant of its Su-27 Flanker air superiority fighter intended for the Chinese air force. Russian sources say that an Su-27 airframe produced by the Komsomolsk on Amur factory has been fitted with a variant of the Phazotron ...
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RSAF fighter choice hinges on support
Training and base support are emerging as potentially key discriminatory factors in the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) choice of a next generation fighter aircraft. The RSAF is working toward selection of a fighter in 2001 to replace its fleets of Northrop F-5s and McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, ...
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Lockheed Martin wants to make new friends
Strong international partnerships are still the ambition of Lockheed Martin, says Micky Blackwell, president of the company's Aeronautics Sector. During a whistlestop one-day visit to Asian Aerospace, he says: "We are looking for partnerships as stepping stones to other things". Blackwell points to recent link-ups with Australian, Italian ...
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Harrison is BAe's new man in Singapore
British Aerospace has appointed AVM Tony Harrison executive vice-president and general manager for Singapore. In particular, Harrison will be focusing on the Eurofighter EF 2000 programme in this region. Harrison, whose appointment was announced this week at the show, brings something of a pedigree to the post. A former ...
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No brakes on Messier-Bugatti in global market
Asian Aerospace exhibitor Messier-Bugatti (Stand A411), which is owned by Snecma, is now the world's leading supplier of carbon brakes, with around 30% of its possible global market. Airbus has certified Messier-Bugatti carbon brakes for each of its aircraft types and Dassault also specifies them for the Mirage 2000 ...
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Innovative antenna introduced by JV partners
Genuinely innovative products are relatively rare in the aviation industry - so when Dayton-Granger (Stand D244) and Canadian company Bristol Aerospace introduced a helicopter antenna incorporating the deflector component of a wire strike protection system (WSPS) cutter assembly, there was considerable interest. Research and development efforts have been on-going ...
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Defector alleges Russians hold anthrax stockpile
The former Soviet Union had "hundreds of tons" of anthrax bacteria and lesser amounts of the smallpox and plague viruses ready to launch in the 1980s by missile in case of a world war, a high-level defector revealed on USA prime-time TV last night. Dr Kanatjan Alibekov, who was second-in-command ...
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Australians look overseas for Wedgetail orders
The winning bidder for the Australian government's Project Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft will benefit not only from that country's order, but also its desire to seek additional orders for Wedgetail from other nations. "There are a lot of Australian companies involved in the various aspects ...
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Hercules delays cause red faces at Lockheed Martin
Tim Ripley The continuing delays in delivering the first Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules are a "great embarrassment", says company aeronautics sector president Micky Blackwell. The company is working "with great vigour" to placate customers who are still waiting for their high technology transport aircraft. Blackwell attributes the late ...
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Chinese plan to fly light fighter prototype in 2000
Geoff Thomas Pride of place on the CATIC stand (B212) is taken by a nose and forward fuselage section of the Chengdu FC-1, described as a 'new generation single-seater multi-role light fighter'. This is a project whose origins go back many years, pre-Tiananmen Square, when Grumman was heavily involved in ...
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Daewoo confident of trainer sales to Korean air force
Andrew Mollet Daewoo says that it hopes to sell between 100 and 150 of its new KTX-1 basic trainers to the Republic of Korea air force (ROKAF). The company will be delivering an initial batch of 20 KTX-1s later this year, and a further 20 in 2000 as the ...
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F-16's future hinges on this year's sales
Tim Ripley This year is a "watershed year" for Lockheed Martin's F-16 Fighting Falcon programme if the company's best-selling fighter is to stay in production beyond the year 2001 and win up to 600 new orders. Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth, Texas, plant has orders to keep it working to 2001, ...
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New team sharpens CASA business focus
Sarah Lazenby Spanish aircraft manufacturer CASA has restructured its top team for a sharper focus on future business growth and investment. The re-organisation, announced yesterday at Asian Aerospace '98, comes seven months after Alberto Fernandez was appointed chairman and chief executive. Pedro Mendez will now head the space division, with ...
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Tiger hopes to claw back into display
Paul Derby Eurocopter executives hope to have a replacement Tiger combat helicopter flying in today's display after the original craft destined for Asian Aerospace '98 crashed in Australia only days before the start of the show. Executives at Changi say they had to move "incredibly quickly" to cut through red ...
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PR pow-wow
It was the Pratt & Whitney press conference, but it might well have been described as a pow-wow of powerplant PRs. Tucked somewhat sheepishly on a back row of the press conference room were the public relations officers of BMW Rolls-Royce, General Electric and International Aero Engines. P&W president ...
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Greek F-16 deal?
The Hellenic air force (HAF) has completed a series of 30 evaluation flights in the Lockheed Martin F-16 at Nea Anchilos AFB in Greece. The HAF has 80 Block 50 F-16s on order, but is evaluating candidate fighters for another purchase which Lockheed Martin (Pavillion) says is expected to ...
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RAAF picks Sidewinder successor
Paul Phelan/CAIRNS Matra BAe Dynamics has beaten competition from Rafael and Raytheon to have its Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile (ASRAAM) selected by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as its successor to the AIM-9 Sidewinder. The deal secures the first export order for the ASRAAM. The Australian ...